Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
This whole thing calls to mind a conversation I had this past weekend with a long-tome friend and his wife, about the issue of sexist "oppression" in the modern western world. Specifically, are women socially oppressed in our society, and in what ways does this inequity present itself? I'm not talking about isolated oppression in which women are still victims of violent acts, and isolated instances of disenfranchisement within smaller religious or cultural scenarios. I'm speaking of a more universal social condition. The best my friend could come up with was the inequity in the labour force that affects women who choose to have children. In the first place, women are free to take maternity leave, but in the process often times find it very difficult to re-enter the work force as a result, or must re-enter at the same point in which they left, and are thus a step behind their male counterparts on the corporate ladder. In the second place, women are also expected to accept a disproportionately high workload; in which they are pressured to be a great full-time employee as well as to effectively and efficiently maintain a household.
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I don't even think this argument is valid. No inequality exists there. Women CHOOSE to take maternity leave. Men have the right to take up to 36 weeks of the leave. Assuming no complications having a baby really only requires about 2 weeks of recovery (this is based on Human Rights Commission rulings that require short term disability payments me made to women who can't return to work). A C-section about 6 weeks. So if a women chooses she could take 3 weeks off and be back at work without missing a beat while the Husband takes time of work.
Now a man who takes his 36 weeks of permitted leave would face all of the same problems re-integrating themselves into the work force that a women faces.
The fact his having children is a choice and taking a year off should put you a year or more behind on the corporate ladder. This is a choice made by a couple when they choose to have children. They also get to decide between themselves who will take the career hit. There is nothing discriminatory here. Only that in practice women generally CHOOSE to be the ones who take a year off.